


Oh Deer

by thegizka



Series: Shikamaru Week 2019 [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 20:33:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17372822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegizka/pseuds/thegizka
Summary: The Naras have a long tradition of embarrassing their children.Written for Shikamaru Week 2019 Day 3:  Tradition.





	Oh Deer

“I’m so sorry we’re doing this to you.”

 

Shikadai’s wide teal eyes stared up at his father without comprehending.  He was too young to form definite opinions about anything that didn’t directly affect his well-being.  Every part of life was still incredibly new, and he could only take it in with the quiet observation of a child carefully cataloging experiences.

 

With a sigh, Shikamaru finished working his son’s arm through his sleeve and zipped up his onesie.  He then lifted him from the bed and nestled the baby against his shoulder with great care. He didn’t want to coddle Shikadai, but he was still so small and fragile, so innocent, that he found himself paying attention to how he walked lest he jostle him.  He would catch Temari doing the same, moving carefully and with more gentleness than he had ever seen. He would wonder whether parenthood was making her soft, but she was always quick with a snide remark and that dangerous smile to wipe the idea from his thoughts.

 

“Are you ready?” he murmured into his son’s soft, dark hair.  The child couldn’t know of the years of embarrassment today would bring in its wake.  He wanted to delay it, to drag his feet until he thought up an excuse to bypass it altogether.  But he knew Temari and his mother would never allow it. This was a tradition, and traditions were set in stone.

 

“Alright little buddy, let’s get this over with.”

 

Temari and Yoshino were in the living room trying to position the camera on its tripod and figure out its delay setting.  Both were wearing brown onesies similar to Shikadai’s.

 

“Look who decided to finally join us!  You were taking so long, we were starting to worry you’d gotten lost.”

 

“Oh sure, it’s not like I’ve lived in this house my entire life or anything.”  He rolled his eyes at his wife, who only broadened her teasing smile.

 

“Shikamaru, do you know how to work this thing?  I can never remember how to set the delay time,” Yoshino called.

 

“Yeah, I’ve got it.”  He handed the baby to her, suspecting she really just wanted to hold her grandson and was using the camera as a way to get her hands on him.  He walked her through the camera settings, but she was definitely paying more attention to Shikadai than anything he was saying.

 

“Last chance to save our son from years of embarrassment,” he reminded them once the camera was set up.  “We could all just walk away right now and be done with this trouble.”

 

“Nope,” Temari countered.  “That’s not happening. This is a  _ tradition _ .”

 

“There have been generations of baby Naras’ first family photos done like this, and you are not going to disappoint everyone by ducking out on it.  Now put on your antlers.”

 

Shikamaru had learned long ago that arguing with his mother got him nowhere.  With a sigh he zipped up his own onesie and grabbed the antlers Temari handed to him.  They had originally been shed by one of the young bucks in the forest herd and fastened to a sort of headband with felt ears.  This had been passed amongst the Nara men over many years and was looking a little worse for wear. Even though it looked tacky, no one was willing to make any changes to it because it was part of the tradition.

 

He could see Temari out of the corner of his eye trying not to laugh at him as he put on the headset.  It seemed unfair that the women got to wear fluffy store-bought deer ears and he was stuck with this decrepit old thing.

 

“Lookin’ good,” his wife giggled.  He gave her an exasperated look, which seemed to tickle her even more.

 

“Okay, stand in your places so I can make sure we all fit in the frame,” Yoshino said, giving her grandson back to Shikamaru.  Temari pulled up the hood on his little onesie, giving him ears and the smallest, softest nubs of baby antlers. It actually looked really comfortable, and his father was a little jealous.

 

“Shikamaru, move a little to the left,” Yoshino directed.  Over the next few minutes, he was subjected to a number of these orders as his mother arranged what she hoped would be the perfect picture.  Shikadai wiggled in his arms a little, but Temari was always quick to tickle his cheek and coo, which usually caused him to smile and relax. It must be some secret mom magic she had.

 

“Okay, are you ready?”  Without waiting for confirmation, Yoshino set the timer in motion, the flash blinking on and off as it counted down to the snap.  “Shikamaru, if you don’t smile nicely, I will force you to stand here and retake the picture until I am satisfied,” she threatened as she took her place beside him.  He let his eyes roll up to the ceiling for a moment as he thought about what a drag that would be, but he slapped on his best grin as the camera clicked.

 

“Ouch!” he yelped a second later, Shikadai’s little hand latched firmly onto his goatee and pulling.  “Mind letting go there, buddy?” He tried to ignore the pain while removing his son’s surprisingly strong fingers, Temari watching on bemusedly while Yoshino checked the picture.  Shikadai simply gurgled happily. “For someone who’s going to be embarrassed by this for the rest of his life, you sure are happy right now,” he observed, dodging another attempt to grab his goatee.

 

Temari wandered over to her mother-in-law, who was glancing between the camera screen and her son with an ominously blank expression.

 

“How did we do?  Oh.” Her expression went blank for a second, too, before a grin slowly stretched across her face.  “Oh, that’s perfect.”

 

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Yoshino agreed, her own dangerous grin taking shape.  Shikamaru was immediately suspicious, but Shikadai’s eager hands were distracting him too much to work out why his wife and mother were making him uneasy.

 

“Does that mean we’re done?” he asked instead.  “These antlers aren’t exactly comfortable.”

 

“Aw, but they make you look so cute!”

 

“Okay, we’re definitely done.”  He pulled the headset off and gently set it on on the couch, careful to keep it out of Shikadai’s reach, even though he’d love to see his child tear it apart with wild baby enthusiasm.  “Let’s go get you changed, little deer.”

 

XXX

 

Shikamaru was able to forget about the family photo for a few weeks until he came home from work to a new picture on the wall.  Now he understood why Temari and Yoshino had looked so sly about it.

 

It wasn’t what he would necessarily call a perfect photo.  His wife and mother looked pristine and put-together, smiling with genuine happiness, but the men of the family were a mess.  His antlers were a little lopsided and his eyes were half-closed, still in transit to the camera. His smile was also obviously forced.  Shikadai at least seemed genuinely happy, a second away from grabbing his dad’s goatee. He was a little blurry around the edges, and his hood was slipping off, but it conveyed a mischievousness he rarely showed.

 

He had to admit, it was a decently accurate portrait of them.  He just wished they hadn’t sent it to every member of his extended family and put it on display for every guest in their home to see.

 

“It looks good, right?”  Temari was leaning in the kitchen doorway, that devilish smirk back on her face.

 

“It’s definitely something.  You do know the point of this is to embarrass the kid, not the father, right?”

 

“If the opportunity to do both comes up, of course I’m going to take it.  Besides, you are a Nara kid. The fact that you’re older doesn’t change that.”

 

He sighed.  What a troublesome tradition.


End file.
